Despite losing the past two games, one player has simply shone on Metallurg Mg.'s lineup. Evgeny Gladskikh (Vancouver Canucks) scored his 16th goal to open the scoring in the fourth game against Avangard, and he also scored a penalty shot after overtime to bring Metallurg into a tie on penalty shots, only to watch former Minnesota Wild forward Maxim Sushinsky score for Avangard and another former Wild, Ravil Gusmanov, miss on his attempt after faking out Maxim Sokolov to the ice. Gladskikh has been a consistant threat for his club and looked better than his linemate Alexei Kaigorodov, who has for long been the better of the two young Metallurg prospects.

Vancouver Canucks prospect Evgeny Gladskikh lost a front tooth and damaged two others when a shot hit him in the face in Metallurg’s first semifinals match against Ak Bars Kazan. The young forward will remain in the lineup and the injury should not impact him on the ice. Thus far he has been having a career year, and has been one of his club’s impact players in the playoffs.

Despite never being mentioned as one of Russia’s young rising stars, Evgeny Gladskikh (Vancouver Canucks) managed to put together a solid season on a veteran filled Megallurg Magnitagorsk club. Consistently skating on Metallurg’s second or third lines, the young forward, who is known for his soft hands, amassed 23 points (11 goals and 12 assists) in 45 games, more then doubling his output from last season. His totals were also good enough to be seventh on the club in points and fifth in goals, surpassing even some of the club’s more established veteran players.

Yevgeniy Gladskyh has been developing well in Metallurg Magnitogorsk’s strong farm system. He is a solid skater, though he could use some more speed. Yevgeniy is an excellent stick handler and an observer has compared his stick handling ability to that of Sergei Gomolyako, the best stick handler in recent Russian hockey history. Yevgeniy’s biggest weapon is his strong and well aimed wrist shot. Defensively he is responsible and plays a strong positional game. Yevgeniy does not hesitate to fight for the puck in the boards, but he is not a physical player, preferring to use his stick and position rather then physical strength. Nevertheless, Yevgeniy has a great work ethic and works hard at all times he is on the ice

Back In Russia:

2002-03 Season Review: Metallurg lost many players during the 2002 off-season and Gladskih was one of the young players that the team depended on stepping up. The young center raised his game to a new level, but it was not enough to maintain him as a third line center, forcing the club to venture into the free market to solve their problems. Gladskih did not have a terrible year, but it was by no means a break through season experienced by his teammate, Alexei Kaigorodov. His point production equaled to that of the previous season, though his overall play did improve.

Yevgeniy’s has developed well at the highest level of adult hockey in Russia. He is treated as an equal by his teammates in Metallurg Magnitogorsk, one of the wealthiest hockey teams in Russia. During the 2001-02 season he has been playing wing on the team’s third line and has seen marginal success (4 goals and 6 assists in 29 games) and stable ice time. He has also seen some limited ice time with the Russia’s second national team. He was given an opportunity to gain ice time during the 2002-03 season, but was unable to hold on to his third line center spot when the team started to struggle. He continued to get significant ice time, though was unable to experience the breakout year of the likes of his young teammate Alexei Kaigorodov.

NHL Outlook:

The Vancouver Canucks drafted Yevgeniy with their third pick, in the fourth round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft (114th overall). Considering his development since being drafted and the lack of exposure he received prior to the draft, getting him in the fourth round was a steal. The relatively unspectacular 2002-03 season has slowed his developement a bit, but it does not appear that Metallurg Magnitagorsk has at all given up on the young forward. He will likely receive consistent third line duties during 2003-04 season. He remains a solid prospect.